The Independent

Driving through Placerville, make this your 1^st choice. Excellent local wine selections and fresh locally sourced ingredients. Relaxed ambiance with a friendly staff.
My choice tonight; Ahi Tartare, a Wedge Salad, with a glass of LavaCap Chard. Winning combination.

Came here for my 21^st birthday brunch and it was delicious and the drinks were amazing, definitely make reservations for brunch but great breakfast selection and the espresso martini and mimosas were on point!

Little pricey, food was nice, upscale place in Placerville, CA.

Great brunch. Was able to make reservations, seated quickly, food was perfect. Very reasonable prices. Highly recommend.

Soooo slow! 45 min, still no food. Lunch time on a Friday. Not sure what happened in the kitchen, the place is half full.
When I asked to speak to MGR and just let him know how awkward the wait was, he lectured me on the restaurant business. Wow.

The three stars is for the vegetables… when it comes to steak dont order a rib eye as it is 90 percent fat… and the filet doesn’t come cooked to order as evidenced by 2 tables in 15 min. The drinks are good on the plus side which is important when your steak sucks. The service is great as is the Mac and cheese. The manager was unapologetic and I dropped the review from a 3 to a 2 based on his, the manager/​owners, disinterest in his customers. Tell Ben he need an attitude adjustment and customer service matters.

Enjoying good food and drinks at the independent in Placerville
They always treat patrons very respectful and friendly
Thank you

The manager and servers we very accommodating when we didn’t have a reservation on a Saturday evening. The patio is quaint and amazing. Fireplace and heaters– no problem for this group of 5 from Kansas! I’m so grateful for the scallop dinner special tonight. Scallops are my favorite dish and these scallops were cooked perfectly and beautifully seasoned on a bed of sautéed greens, carrots, and potatoes. COME HERE!

Wow. This is the best meal we’ve had in a long while.
Super attentive staff. Well designed and organized menu (easy to navigate and easy to make decisions). Nice cozy ambiance.
Everything we had had the perfect amount of richness and flavor. The salmon burgers were tender and thoughtfully seasoned so the fresh salmon was the focus. The vegetables were fresh and crispy-​a tangy, refreshing salad dressing on the mixed greens side salad. Truffle oil Mac and cheese was also a winner.
Oh. And the drinks are delicious too.
My man and I are whiskey fans and The Independent provided a variety of interesting rye and bourbon cocktails made with their house made ginger beer.
Im thoroughly impressed and will probably plan another nearby vacation just so I can eat at The Independent again. Thanks guys! Amazing work!

We have been to The Independent twice in the past two weeks. We recently moved up to El Dorado County from the Bay Area and we’re looking for a friendly, upscale, high-​quality in both service and food restaurant, and we found it on Main Street in Placerville.
I had the skirt steak on one occasion and the pork chop on another. My wife had the filet and chicken and paparadelle. All dinners were excellent. The service was outstanding, the mixed drinks good and the patio outside, with the fireplace at night on a warm summer evening, was beyond compare.
The Mac and cheese and the salted backed potato’s were outstanding. The personalities and respectfulness of the employees makes this place our new go-​to restaurant. I would come back once a week if we could.
It has a great bar with a couple of TV’s that always looks full after 4 PM.
Great food, great atmosphere, great location. We will be back many times.

We come here often! Especially when I get the craving for the Pear martini! It is by far the best martini I have ever had. I’m a big «lemon drop» drinker… have always loved the lemon drop, BUT the pear martini has taken first place and I’ve dropped the lemon. The pear martini is made with lemongrass infused vodka and pear brandy. It is the bartenders own recipe and I love it. The food and service is wonderful too. My husband had the best rib eye ever! I had a Cesar salad and the leek onion ring appetizer. Not so sure I would get those again, but they were tasty. All in all… love the independent.

WOW! Thank you Unilocal for guiding us toward this gem! We drove the 395 North from Death Valley and needless to say, WE WERE HUNGRY! The Independent did not disappoint! What a great team of folks, especially Christy who knows her way around a mean Manhattan! Perfection in a glass!
Conversation around the bar was terrific and MUST order the jalapeño mac-​n-​cheese!
Thanks again! We will be back!

This place is the best great service awesome lady «blonde Hair Older owners Mom «love her so personal no place is better food and service

We really like this restaurant for special occasions. Wait staff is friendly and the food is very good.

The is top ten of our favorite restaurants! High class service and food in the foothills that has everything we want has been hard to find. And it’s consistent! So many choices also healthy choices that are out of this world! This is the first place I could find that made a real Old Fashion cocktail!
Fresh, clean eating, no dyes in cocktail cherries. Chefs, bartenders and waiters all trained to perfectionism. I use to be in the business for many years so believe me when I rate a well managed establishment five stars it’s more then just excellent! Bravo!

Came back again with the Twin. Had a really delicious meal!
Soup of the day was cream of broccoli. Twin didn’t like it and server took it off bill. Nice!
Calamari WAS ON POINT!!! They switched out the yucky sweet and sticky sauce from 2014 that just didn’t go with the seafood and added a lemon cream sauce and a red sauce that reminded me of the ocean. The Independent serves the tentacles too which are my favorite. We were really happy with this despite it being slightly greasy.
My fried chicken was well fried and not oily. I asked for the cheddar grits which was more of a thick cheesy paste as if it’s been sitting on the stove for a bit. The taste was good but I wished it was creamy. I also had the truffle Mac and cheese which is my FAVORITE side. It’s best to get it in house because when you order to go I feel like you get jipped in the portion and the bread crumbs on top are usually on the bottom.
Twin ordered the ribeye. It was good. She was pleased. Ate it with veggies and turnip fries which we’ve had before and enjoy.
Ordered the strip for the husband to go. It was a little too pink for his well done but I told him they probably thought about him having to reheat and bam! Perfectly well done. Right?
The chocolate pot de crème was my sister’s favorite. It was creamy and chocolatey and hit the spot. It was good but I would’ve rather had the Mac and cheese again.
We ordered the Moscow mule and the pomegranate mojito. Both were delicious though the mule was better.
Service was friendly. Bill came out to be $ 130 before tip. They don’t take gift cards.

The service at the Independent has always been top notch. Friendly, prompt, never rude or hurried. I really like their side dishes, but you don’t really go to a restaurant for their sides. They do have a happy hour with drinks and snacks, but nothing spectacular for happy hour.
I’ve had a couple entrees here — a pasta dish, and both of their chicken entrees. The food is… Underwhelming. Granted, it’s Placerville, so upscale places are scarce. The portion sizes are HUGE. It just seems like for the prices, the food isn’t really special. My most recent dinner was their herb chicken with Mac n cheese. The mac n cheese was great. They gave me half chicken, but it reminded me of a less flavorful version of a Safeway rotisserie chicken. Entrees range from about $ 20 – 30 and include a side dish. Their focus seems to be mostly on steak and seafood entrees, so that may be where their strength lies.
I would recommend making a reservation if trying to dine during prime time on the weekends. It’s a pretty popular place in town. They also have a lovely patio area, and not many other places in town do. It’s not my favorite place, but we eat there from time to time.

What a gem this place is! We discovered it last month during a long road trip back from Mammoth Lakes on a Sunday night. Placerville is at the halfway mark to the Bay Area and we were tired and hungry. After Unilocal’ing restaurants in Placerville, we decided on The Independent.
It’s a casual yet classy restaurant with a great menu and wine list. Everything I’ve had on my past two visits has been superb. The prices for entrees are $ 22-​$ 30+ and it’s well prepared, quality food. I’ve had the good fortune to have Tyrel as my server on both visits and he’s amazing– attentive, great timing, and charming!
If you need a nice dinner spot on your road trip back through Tahoe to the bay Area, this is the place!

We were tired and hungry from the day’s skiing trip in Tahoe, so we just wanted to find a good and hearty meals around Placerville. We didn’t want a fancy restaurant, but wanted a venue that served reasonable and hopefully delicious meals.
Well, we got more than we bargained for at the Independent…
Arrived for a late lunch, we were promptly seated and there was only 1 minute of wait time.
Our host and waitress were cordial and helpful. We ordered Philly cheese steak, chicken nuggets and bread pudding dessert. They were all scrumptious and well priced!
My Philly cheese steak was moist but not overly cheesy or contained too much sauce and the chicken nuggets were perfectly fried with a good amount of chicken in the batter.
The bread pudding was humongous while the caramel adds sweet flavoring that just melts in our hearts and stomachs. All of these for less than $ 50…
The quality and the representation of their foods are definitely more than a casual restaurant.
I’d rate this as a fancy/​first rate restaurant without the attitude and the price. That said, I hope they don’t change since I’ll be back on our way to Tahoe in the near future :)

This was a great find on the way home through Placerville. Near the highway.
Greeted friendly and seated promptly from the young women. Menus were provided and drink orders taken shortly. Water was initially requested. Water was crisp and refreshing. Simple menu with various items for the group I was with.
We elect to order a few Tom Collins with the juniper gin. We also get our food orders in by the host/​waitress. She comes back fairly frequent for the drinks and table requests.
Food comes in practically no time.
We all ordered sandwich for lunch. The orders at the table include the chicken sandwich, ablt, and French dip. Side of choices orders for the visit varied from the pub beer battered fries, salad, or soup of the day (chili).
Food portions were good.
Opinions from the others eating. Chicken sandwich was cooked right, moist, good crispy thick bacon produce and a little cream garlic romelaade. Expecting more garlic but good enough to finish.
The French dip was a hot. Tender meat and a nice au jus sauce. Fair amount of horseradish.
The ABLT is a avocado bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich. I was reluctant at first to place the order. Not sure how much to expect. Found this sandwich was stacked tall with thick cuts of bacon. Fresh crisp vegetables. Light aioli sauce. A good French like roll. Separately ok. Together harmonious.
We all ordered different sides. Two salads, fries and the chili. Opinions from the other. Salads were as requested. They appeared to be properly dressed as each person ordering had finished them (even those that don’t care much for the greens. The chile that day was a little more light but hearty in build. I ordered the fries and they were crispy fresh on their own. While eating we ordered another beverage, bar may have been backed up a little. Drink was the same and just as balanced drink to sweet as the first.
Waitress and other staff checked on the table frequent. Bill settlement was quick.
Good: food, host and wait service (from Kat?), drinks.
Bad: nothing to date.
I will venture through the next time in Placerville. Worth it.